Finger moistening solution



Patented July 16, 1940 PATENT OFFICE FINGER MOISTENING SOLUTION George E. Lane, Hecla, S. Dak.

No Drawing. Application June 26, 1939,

. Serial No. 281,221

1 Claim. (Cl. 134-2337) This invention relates to preparations which can be generally termed as finger-moisteners.

Some types of 'work require considerable handling of sheets of thin material, and it is frequently difficult to separate individual sheets from a stack without moistening the fingers, This is particularly true in banking houses in connection with the handling of currency. New currency is especially hard to handle, and it is naturally of considerable importance for the bank teller to accurately and at the same time speedily separate bills in a stack when counting them. In the usual banking institution water is employed for moistening the fingers when handling currency, but water is not a particularly satisfactory liquid for use as a finger moistener. It evaporates relatively quickly when handling paper; it has no appreciable adhesive characteristics other than its wetness; and where water is kept in a small container for moistening the fingers, it soon becomes slimy and unsanitary.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a finger moistening solution which can be conveniently and effectively used for handling sheet material such a currency and which is equally adaptable for use by persons who must frequently turn the pages of books for various purposes, and which is further useful when handling index cards and in other similar instances.

Another object of the invention is to provide a finger-moistening solution which has definite adhesive characteristics so that only small quantities must be used to render it efiective.

A further object of the invention is to provide a finger-moistening solution which has positive germicidal properties, a feature of considerable advantage in the handling of currency and books and documents which are available to the general public.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a solution which will not quickly evaporate from the fingers so that repeated application at frequent intervals is eliminated.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of my invention including its preparation and use.

It has been found extremely desirable to provide an adhesive substance which will render the solution considerably more effective for the above described use than plain water and which is as effective as the well known rubber finger cots which are both unwieldy and a source of discomfort to the user. I prefer to use as an adhesive one of a number of resinous substances such as rosin. I first prepare a rather highly concentrated solution of rosin by placing a quantity of it in water in powdered form and then boiling it until it becomes a relatively viscous and extremely tacky substance. This is then thoroughly mixed with a solution of alcohol or other suitable germicidal liquid and a fixed liquid as distinguished from a volatile substance. This fixed liquid is preferably glycerol. To this solution I add a small amount of some aromatic substance such as any suitable type of commercial perfume.

The proportions of the various substances making up my preparation need not be determined with any great degree of accuracy. I have found, however, that a very satisfactory preparation can be made by combining fifty (50) to seventy-five per cent alcohol with twenty (20) to forty (40) per cent glycerol, a maximum of approximately five (5) per cent of the liquid rosin concentrate and from one (1) to five (5) per cent perfume. The alcohol is then present in sufiicient quantity to provide a very effective germicidal characteristic to the preparation, and the glycerol is present in sufficient quantity to maintain the fingers moist for a considerable length of time. The relatively small amount of rosin or other suitable resinous substance or adhesive is amply sufficient to make the fingers slightly sticky, but, at the same time, not so sticky that it is difiicult to release sheets of paper quickly as in counting currency. The perfume, of course, renders the preparation agreeable to the user.

The method of application of the substance to the fingers is not particularly important. It may be applied with a small bulb type atomizer or the fingers may be lightly wiped across a sponge which is more or less saturated with the solution. The fingers may even be wiped so that they are nearly dry, and there is still sufiicient adhesive material retained by the skin to greatly facilitate the handling of sheets of material for a considerable time before another application is required. The preparation has very little color, being a light amber, and it is not harmful to papers or to the clothing.

If a relatively high percentage of glycerol is used, the liquid is, of course, much more viscous, and it may happen that certain percentages of precipitate from the rosin will remain in suspension in the liquid, but this precipitate is not objectionable. On the other hand, it is of some assistance since it provides a more or less solid tacky constituent, which adds to the adhesive .properties of the preparation.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a liquid preparation for moistening the fingers to materially assist in the rapid and accurate handling of sheet material wherein the solution has adhesive characteristics, germicidal properties, and is capable of maintaining the fingers moist for a considerably longer time than when plain water is used. ,The fixed liquid, preferably glycerol, will prevent the fingers from becoming chapped, and while glycerol has previously been used in hand lotions, it has the additional function in my preparation of maintaining a moist condition of the fingers While keeping the skin soft and in good condition.

It will, of course, be understood that while I have set forth the constituent ingredients which I prefer to use in the solution other suitable equivalent substances can be combined and the proportions thereof varied to a considerable degree if desired.

What is claimed is:

A preparation for facilitating the handling of sheet material comprising alcohol, glycerol and a resin in approximate percentages of fifty (50) to seventy-five (75) per cent alcohol, twenty (20) to forty (40) per cent glycerol and not over five (5) per cent of resin, the resin and glycerol being in solution in the alcohol. 

